Are RCCL Removing Conceirge Access for Diamond Members? - Opinions please

[Aquahound]

I spoke with the Guest Services Manager, who appologised by offering a single bottle of wine. Although he also stated that the removal of Concierge facilities for all non suite guests (Diamond and Diamond+) will be rolling out fleet wide from January. This fact was confirmed later in the cruise by the F&B Manager.

 

In my experience, the word of the on board crew is usually wrong.

[bchalker]

Some of you are saying that it isn't fair to get a cruise credit for a 3 nt. sailing. Why not? My money isn't as good or spends as well as those that take a 7 nt. cruise? My schedule only permits me to be away short periods of time. Am I being a argumentative?, Yes!!!! But, that is how the program was established. Will it change? More than likely, it will be tweaked.

 

We have cruised with Royal, and not just for the perks. We have had good food (I am not a connesuir) and service and enjoyable times on our cruises. I can live with most of the cutbacks that have bben recently applied, but if they were to deny access to the CL, I would have definitely look at other lines.:mad:

 

Joe,

We are right there with you on the short cruises. Actually we just made diamond yesterday with a 2 night on the Navigator. To those that think the short cruises shouldnt count go ahead and suggest to RCI that they attempt to fill the Majesty on a week long cruise. We like the Majesty and her quick weekend trips but no way would we do 7 days on her.

[Charles4515]

In my experience, the word of the on board crew is usually wrong.

 

That has also been my experience. They are at sea and not at the main office and hear scuttlebutt and rumors. Many times the onboard crew will tell you what they think you want to hear. Positive or negative. They aim to please :)

 

Sooner or later there will be changes in the Loyalty program. After all there have been changes in the past and all amenities evolve with time. I advise people to enjoy what is available know and don't worry about changes until they are announced.

[bgsimp]

I have the best way for RCCL to deal with this should some of this come into play.

If they are just going to make the Diamond Lounge for

D + & coupons for a couple of free drinks for D, they should grandfather us D people in & make us D+ !!! :D

Actually even if it was coupons for a few free drinks a night for D, I would miss the atmoshere of the lounge. I would live (? I think ).

I love the DL on the Freedom Class. They have a nice outside deck to sit outside. It's great.

I would hate to see this taken away completely & I doubt that would happen.

[Charles4515]

I love the DL on the Freedom Class. They have a nice outside deck to sit outside. It's great.

I would hate to see this taken away completely & I doubt that would happen.

 

The Diamond Lounge on Freedom class is nice but I prefer the Concierge Lounges because of their location. The Diamond Lounge is much farther to get to and away from the center of the ship. Another negative is that smoke from the Viking Lounge seeps into the Diamond Lounge. Also on Freedom they did not have the outside deck. They had it on Liberty. Don't know about Independence.

[Debde]

Although I am not even D nor have I sailed enough as many Ihave a few thoughts.

Of my 3 cruises-once I got such a great deal was able to do a GS so I had all the CL perks. [don't know if that will happen again!:(] Don't get me wrong-nice touch but being we are not big drinkers and it is a family cruise-drinks in the lounge are not that big a draw.

Because the CL on AOS was small-I do feel suite guests should have that room to themselves. I'm pricing next years cruise and for the heck of it did the least expensive for 4 and then a GS. It is almost 3 thousand dollar difference.:eek: For that right there I think suite guests deserve the quiet intimate setting in the CL. If there were lets say 100 D-D+ on that cruise-plus suite guests, the lounge would have been quite uncomforatable.

As for D and D+, am I correct that all the newer ships from Freedom up have a designated lounge for those loyal customers? That is how it should be. I'm thinking RC understands the amount of D and D+ they have and long befor this thread they understood that problem and has begun to rectify it.

I don't believe they will take that program away. If they do-they will offer D and D+ something else to keep them feeling special and rightly so. Who knows what they will do. No point in specualting. Also, I'm thinking wait and see what they do befor already going to the worse and find another cruise line. You never know-it might be a real good thing.

By the time I make Diamond-I think they'll have this all figured out!:p

[crazy 4 cruising]

I'm curious how many would cancel their reserved cruises if RCI implemented a change such as this.

Not us. we haven't sailed on that many ships WITH CLs. we love the CL, especially the drinks at night & especially the visiting and getting to know folks. I do have to admit that I drinnk a lot more when on a ship with a CL!!!

 

I maybe upset at RCL corp for all the changes they are making and some of the take aways they have done recently but I can seperate corp from the cruise experience with rcl. I have never had bad service, nor poor food on an RCL ship, We sail twice a year on RCL and in every class of ship and I have to say in all those cruises service has always been great, food is subjective but never left any of our cruises saying the food was poor. I fell you made the right decision for yourself since you are so unhappy with their product.

very well put.

[xpcdoojk]

800 diamond per ship? Please back up these figures you are using.

 

I would think a very large number would be on board during a TA cruise or maybe a Panama canal cruise. I know on a 5 day I did out of Galveston a few years ago, there were only about 10 on board. So, I agree the regular 7 day sailings I would be shocked if the number was ever much above a couple of hundred.

 

jc

[cruisin from florida]

We have earned our cruise credits with a combination of 3, 5, and 7 night cruises. For those who think it's not "fair" that a 3 night cruise earns a cruise credit, please remember that those are the "rules" as Royal set them up.

 

Would we cancel an already booked cruise because of these various changes? Probably not. But we have a lot of cruising years ahead of us, and the more that the loyalty perks are watered down, the more likely we'll look at other options every time we book.

 

Some folks have said that in hard times, Royal has to cut back. Other businesses are trying to give their customers more value right now, in order to encourage them to spend limited disposable income in tough times. I'm surprised that Royal isn't doing this. If it's really a matter of survival to remove loyalty perks, then it may be time to find cruise lines that are more likely to survive this with their product intact.

 

Every time someone comments about missing something Royal has cut back on, someone always responds with a snarky "Oh, well if _________ is the reason you cruise Royal, then I guess you'll have to find another line."

 

SOME of the reasons we thought a RCCL vacation was special and/or a great value:

1. Chocolates on the pillow

2. Free room service

3. Ship Shape (then Vitality) program

4. Combinability of future cruise OBC and C&A coupons and discounts

5. Ability to bring wine aboard and pay a corkage fee in the dining room

6. Ability to purchase alcohol on board and pay a supplement to take it to our room.

 

Is any one of the above the only deciding factor in choosing to cruise with Royal? No. But keep adding the straws, and the camels back will break.

[negc]

Bill,

 

To answer your questions. Neither Suite guests nor Diamond had a CL, as there was none.

 

The comment that this would happen fleetwide was quoted to me by Adrian Fernandez the Guest Services Manager on Board.

 

I did not make assumptions or generalizations, I am merely reporting what a senior onboard official told me.

 

Derek

 

My question then is why didn't you head your post something along the lines of: "Concierge Access for Suite Passengers and Diamonds" and assume that your solitary experience on Legend would apply to both suite passengers and diamond members equally. As far as the source of the "fleetwide" comment, I'm sorry to point out that even guest services managers, loyalty ambassadors, waiters, room stewards and ship's officers are not the most reliable sources of information regarding decisions that are made at the executive office level. I am sure Mr. Adrian Fernandez was only telling you what he had heard or what he assumed was going to happen, but so far he seems to have been misinformed.

[madforcruising]

I would think a very large number would be on board during a TA cruise or maybe a Panama canal cruise. I know on a 5 day I did out of Galveston a few years ago, there were only about 10 on board. So, I agree the regular 7 day sailings I would be shocked if the number was ever much above a couple of hundred.

 

jc

 

Yep I think on the Jewel TA last Sept. there were over 800 D/D+ onboard. I don´t recall the exact number, but there were enough to close the CL for cocktail hour and not only open Hollywood Odyssey, but also the Vortex as Satellite lounge.

[SherriZ366]

The Diamond Lounge on Freedom class is nice but I prefer the Concierge Lounges because of their location. The Diamond Lounge is much farther to get to and away from the center of the ship. Another negative is that smoke from the Viking Lounge seeps into the Diamond Lounge. Also on Freedom they did not have the outside deck. They had it on Liberty. Don't know about Independence.

We sailed FOS last year and just returned from IOS last week and they had the outside area that we were looking forward to useing. The outside area on IOS was nice but we did not use it as it was windy and when the door was open, it made the DL kind of windy. Not a real complaint and our next cruise on a ship with a DL will be FOS as it will be homeported in Port Canaveral -- a 4 1/2 hour drive from our house.

[Bobal]

 

Every time someone comments about missing something Royal has cut back on, someone always responds with a snarky "Oh, well if _________ is the reason you cruise Royal, then I guess you'll have to find another line."

 

SOME of the reasons we thought a RCCL vacation was special and/or a great value:

1. Chocolates on the pillow

2. Free room service

3. Ship Shape (then Vitality) program

4. Combinability of future cruise OBC and C&A coupons and discounts

5. Ability to bring wine aboard and pay a corkage fee in the dining room

6. Ability to purchase alcohol on board and pay a supplement to take it to our room.

 

Is any one of the above the only deciding factor in choosing to cruise with Royal? No. But keep adding the straws, and the camels back will break.

 

Very well put :)

[negc]

Their loyalty ase in each category grew too fast - the crusing industry enjoyed a number of years of great growth - Cruising is not just for seniors anymore. This became a problem and their program should have been revamped a number of years ago. As I stated it should not be the number of cruises, but based on the number of days cruised.

 

And how long do you think it would take for some people to game your system and find a way to attain higher C&A levels that might not seem fair to others? No matter what system you devise there will be those who think that it is unfair (thirty days cruised in an interior room or at a discounted rate as opposed to thirty days in an oceanview, balcony stateroom or suite at higher per diems for example)? The reality is that the system was created by Royal Caribbean executives and whether or not we think it is the fairest or best system, it is really their call and not ours. :rolleyes:

[VASOXFANN]

Very insightful. Good to know. :rolleyes:

 

The OP asked for opinions. I gave mine. I really don't care what you think.

[bgsimp]

In October of 2006, we went on the C & A Member Cruise on the Freedom Of The Seas. There were 850 D & D+ members.:eek:

They put us in Pharoahs Lounge at the end of the Promenade. It was really great because they also put entertainment in there every night for us so we even got to dance some.:)

This was really awesome because it was my first experience as a D Member.:D

[GMoney]

The OP asked for opinions. I gave mine. I really don't care what you think.

 

Please accept my apologies.

[isdoo]

And how long do you think it would take for some people to game your system and find a way to attain higher C&A levels that might not seem fair to others? No matter what system you devise there will be those who think that it is unfair (thirty days cruised in an interior room or at a discounted rate as opposed to thirty days in an oceanview, balcony stateroom or suite at higher per diems for example)? The reality is that the system was created by Royal Caribbean executives and whether or not we think it is the fairest or best system, it is really their call and not ours. :rolleyes:

 

Exactly.

 

And the sooner the CL is purely for suite passengers the better.

[justfred]

Okay, I am going to be totally honest here about the CL. DH and myself would have at least 3 drinks each on any length cruise. What are we saving? You do the math. I am talking liquor and not beer or wine. Yes we do use the other perks of the CL but the coctail hour, truth be told is the main perk.

Is the CL or Diamond lounge important to us…..u betcha! If they do take this perk away then I will definitely look to other cruise lines we have sailed before that is begging for our business. Our OBC, NC,SB and whatever have been reduced.

I have never had a bad cruise. I will book any mass market cruise line that gives me the best bang for the buck because I love to cruise. We have sailed most of the mass market lines.

I am loyal to Royal because of the way they treat me now! Tomorrow is a different story.

Just the PRIVILEADGE of getting in the room is a big kick in itself! LOL

 

Lynn, its so refreshing to hear your honest comments, like yourselves, my wife and I really enjoy the cocktail hour, and makes us feel special and appreciated and agree that this is the main perk of the CL or DL for a large number of D members.

We`ve got about 30 cruises under our belt of which 12 have been with RCCL and about 5 with celebrity, rangeing from suites with butlers right down to inside cabins and if I am completely honest RCCL dangled the carrot with the prospect of when reaching D after 10 cruies when we could then enjoy the benifits of the CL was paramont , the cost to us for these cruises with RCCL must be in the region of tens of thousands of £s, so we really think that we have been quite loyal and have fully earned our CL status. I appreciate that it is only speculation at this time but if RCCL removes the CL for Diamond members "believe me "they will undoutedly experience a mass exidos, because like L take note.

Regardsyourselves we are constantly being bombarded by alternative premium cruise lines all of which provide a good cruise experience and who offer far more competative rates and deals, so RCCL take note

Regards

Pete

(Up and coming cruise 10 nts may 27th Southampton to the canary isles)

[negc]

Exactly.

 

And the sooner the CL is purely for suite passengers the better.

 

I'm not sure what soured you on a whole group of your fellow passengers but your distaste for diamond and diamond plus members seems obvious from your posts. Fortunately, RCI, not you, decides how they will recognize both their suite passengers and those non-suite passengers who are frequent customers. Just as there are some obnoxious diamond and diamond plus guests who seem to delight in flaunting their status, so there are also a few suite guests who seem to think that they are the only ones who deserve special treatment wherever they go on the ship. If the CL becomes a haven only for suite passengers, you will be depriving yourself and others of the opportunity to meet some wonderful people who didn't happen to book themselves into a suite but have some great cruise and life experiences that they could share with you.

[Cruise_Couple]

The problem... Too many Diamond and Diamond+ members!

 

The solution... Stop making it so easy to become one.

 

Restructure the system. 1 credit for every 7 days at sea... no extra credits for suites, long cruises, short cruises, whatever, etc. If it is truly a loyalty program then it should be based on the amount of time spent sailing with the cruise line. There... I said it!!! (again)

[bgsimp]

Royal should take care of all of us. D & D+ because we have been loyal to them & will continue so long as they don't strip everything from us. Suite guest as well, as they spend a lot of money to cruise.

What was interesting on the Liberty 2 weeks ago is that they now rope off an area of lounge chairs only for suite guests so they will be able to get a lounge chair.

The pool monitors check ID when they see someone in that section to make sure they are in a suite.

[Debde]

I don't want to start a war here but being new to cruising, when I read the RC website, if you read very carefully it says a D and D+ benefit is concierge service and only on select ships. Can some one please tell me what that means? To me, it is what I call an 'escape clause' as it is not very clear. This to me, leaves a grey area for any comapany to tweak the meaning. It also makes me wonder what they mean by select ships. When I actually take the time to read the website-it can also make you have more questions then when you started.

 

Now-when booking a suite it states cleary:

 

Some suites even include complimentary concierge service, which includes access to a private lounge as well as personalized service to help with making reservations or other arrangements.

[Charles4515]

What was interesting on the Liberty 2 weeks ago is that they now rope off an area of lounge chairs only for suite guests so they will be able to get a lounge chair.

The pool monitors check ID when they see someone in that section to make sure they are in a suite.

 

That bothers me more than if they eliminated or modified the lounge perk.

[silentbob007]

I don't want to start a war here but being new to cruising, when I read the RC website, if you read very carefully it says a D and D+ benefit is concierge service and only on select ships. Can some one please tell me what that means? To me, it is what I call an 'escape clause' as it is not very clear. This to me, leaves a grey area for any comapany to tweak the meaning. It also makes me wonder what they mean by select ships. When I actually take the time to read the website-it can also make you have more questions then when you started.

 

Now-when booking a suite it states cleary:

 

Some suites even include complimentary concierge service, which includes access to a private lounge as well as personalized service to help with making reservations or other arrangements.

 

Not all ships have a concierge lounge ... hence the statement. Everything Radiance and above, as well as a few of the Vision class have them.